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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.